Hush money意思是a bribe paid to someone to insure that something is kept cret.(为了让某人对某事保密而行的贿赂)。Hush做动词可以解释为“不要做声,掩盖”。所以,hush money就是为了防止某人揭露一个罪行或者一个丑闻而付给他的一笔钱。hush up来表达“掩盖”某事的意思,hush the scandal up就是指的“把丑闻掩盖起来”。
平权措施:Affirmative action Affirmative做形容词,表示“肯定的,赞成的,支持的”,如; an affirmative approach to the problem(正面解决问题)。我们平时数学中使用的“正号”,就是affirmative sign。在辩论时,也许你会take the affirmative(站在赞成的一方),或者对某项议题投affirmative vote(赞成票),因为你对自己的观点有十足的把握,有affirmative proof(确凿的证据)。
食品“添加剂”:Additive 在这里意思就是“添加剂”。如chemical additive就是指“化学添加剂”,flavor additive为“香味添加剂”。 除此之外,它还可以做形容词,表示“附加的”,如:additive samples(附加样本);additive information(补充报告)等。我们平时在食品外包装上经常看到This food is guaranteed additive free.(该食品保证不含添加剂)。这句话还可以这样说:枇杷止咳露The manufacturer officially promis that it contains no additives.
农药“残留”:pesticide residue Tests conducted on samples of frozen green beans exported to Japan showed no evidence of pesticide residue, Chine authorities said here yesterday. 这里的residue是matter that remains after something has been removed,即“残留、残余,剩余”等意思,这里的pesticide residue就是“农药残留(物)”。除此以外,residue还有“剩余财产,余数”等意思,比如:The residue of his estate belongs to his son.
个性化车牌:personalized licen plate personalized licen plate就是劳动教育案例“个性化车牌”的英文表达,有些报道中也用personal/personalized plate或者customized licen plate来表示“个性化车牌”,这三种表达方式分别用personalize和customize等词表达了“个性化”这个概念,即make according to personal requirements。
人肉搜索:human flesh arch engines Beijing court has issued what’s being treated as the first decision to award damages for emotional distress in a ca involving human flesh arch engines. 对于“人肉搜索”在网络中的作用,有人称之为Internet lynching(网络私刑),也有人称之为vigilante of the Internet(网络义警),至于孰是孰非,尚待进一步论证。
矿难:coalmine mishap 例:Authorities will launch a three-month inspection on Oct 11 to prevent coalmine accidents nationwide, following a slew of fatalmining mishaps in the past months, the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) announced on its website. 这里mishap就是an unfortunate accident/unforeen happening,即“(意外)事故珠江三角”的意思,coalmine mishap/accident 都是“煤矿事故”的意思,即“矿难”。
我们常用的accident除了指an unexpected happening, often harmful, causing injury etc“意外事故”以外,还可以指anything that happens suddenly or by chance without an apparent cau“意外的、偶然的事”,比如:He met Tom in town by accident.(他在镇上跟汤姆偶遇);而mishap则专指那些“不幸的、意外的事故”。
整顿、整治:overhaul 这个词本意为“对机器设备进行大的维修;到医院进行全面的体检”,因此在使用时更加侧重于指“大刀阔斧”奋勇前进的改革,或指“从根本上进行全面革新”,这里的“整治”之意也是来源于此。
南水北调:South-to-North water diversion 例:According to the South-to-North water diversion office, when part of the project is completed in 2010, about 1 billion cubi
c meters of water will be diverted to Beijing annually. South-to-North Water Diversion Project是“南水北调工程”,The South-to-North Water Diversion Project, consisting of eastern, middle and western routes, is designed to divert water from the water-rich south of the country, mainly the Yangtze River, the country's longest, to the dry north.(南水北调工程包括东线、中线、西线三条调水线路,主要从水资源丰富的长江流域往干旱的北方地区输送水源)。
stem cell: 干细胞,具有lf-renewal(自我更新)以及proliferation (增生)能力的细胞群体。
胜选演说:victory speech;败选演说concession speech;告别演说farewell speech;政治演说stump speech。
竖式计算Speech & address的区别:演说词在英语里是speech,用address这个词是比较少的。如果要说两者有什么差别的话,无非是风格上及使用场合上的区别。speech使用比较随意,而address从风格上来说更为庄重,指“正式的致辞”,例如总统发表的“国情咨文演说”,就要说成是State of the Union Address。
跛脚鸭:Lame duck lame-duck ssion就是指“跛脚鸭国会会议”。 Lame duck字面上看是“跛脚鸭”,它做名词常用来指“无用的人库房安全管理制度”,带有贬义,如:The government should not waste money supporting lame ducks.(政府不应浪费资金去扶持那些无望的企业。) 在政治领域它是指已经没有发展前途的政客,或者任期将满的官员,用来形容他们的窘境。如:The governor of our state ended up as a lame duck when he lost the election.(我们州的州长竞选连任失败,即将离任。)
轮值主席:rotating presidency在rotating presidency这个短语中它表示perform a job or duty on a rotating basis(轮流担任某职务),如:歇脚France holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council from 1 July to 31 December 2008.(法国将从2008年7月1日至12月31日担任六个月的欧盟理事会轮值主席国。)Rotating做形容词最常用的意思是turn on or around an axis or a center(围绕轴或中心旋转的),如rotating view就是指“旋转视图”,不过各大酒店顶层的“旋转餐厅”一般都用revolving restaurant来表示。
定下基调:t tone “tone”在这里的意思是the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people(对处于某地或情境中的人们有影响的气氛)。如:H
er friendly opening speech t the tone for the whole conference.(她友好的开幕词确定了整个会议的基调。)
Tone最常见的意思是指“音调、色调”。如果你想形容一个人的“声调很悦耳”,就可以说Her voice has a pleasant tone. Tone做动词还可以表示“搭配、协调”,朋友家新买了窗帘, The new curtains tone in beautifully with the carpet.(与地毯的颜色非常协调),但是她今天心情可不太好,上班的时候took an angry tone with her colleagues.(带着怒气与同事说话),因为最近由于金融危机,公司的市场状况(tone of the market)不太好。
空白支票 V.S 空头支票blank check 指我们经常提到的a signed check with no amount to be paid filled in(空白支票),即“未填金额的签名支票,可支取任何数目的支票”。如:My uncle offered me a blank check to start my business. 此外,它还可以表示“word删除整页自由处理权,全权”。如:Wilcox was given a blank check in the choice of personnel for the new department.(威尔科克斯先生全权负责为这个新部门挑选人员)。 平时我们常把blank check理解成“空头支票”,但实际上它的意思与“空头支票”正好相反。“空头支票”在英文中是“an empty or a rubber or bad check”,即“金融机构拒绝付现或支付的支票”。出现这种
情况的原因可能是账户已经终止,或者账户资金不足以支付支票金额,也可转意为empty promi or lip rvice(空洞的许诺). 如:Many voters know that the promis of different parties before an election are all just bad checks.(许多选民都知道各党派在选举前的承诺只不过是空头支票,不会兑现的)。